The basis of
geomechanical energy storage is pressurized water pumped into a well, whether
an old oil & gas well or a fit-for-purpose well. Obviously, using old oil
& gas wells is desirable and will be the focus. The method is similar to
that of pumped hydro energy storage. While pumped hydro relies on gravity to
produce the energy, geomechanical energy storage relies on pressure to make it.
Both methods require energy to pump the water and, in the case of geomechanical
energy storage, to pressurize it. Since, in most cases, the pressure in the
well can be maintained for a long period of time, the method might be
considered to be a form of long-duration storage. This also requires enough
storage capacity in the well to produce energy for the time period required.
The pressurized water is unleashed to run a hydroelectric turbine to produce
electricity when needed. Thus, the technology is a combination of oil & gas
reservoir, pressurized water storage, and hydroelectric turbine technology,
applied to energy storage charge and discharge.
In February 2025,
Geomechnical Energy Storage developer Quidnet Energy announced that they had
successfully completed their demonstration project testing for MWh-scale
geomechanical energy storage. According to PV Magazine:
“Quidnet completed MWh-scale functional testing and
accelerated lifetime testing of the GES technology, and the results validated
GES capabilities across critical performance benchmarks, including negligible
self-discharge and capacity degradation, the company reports.”
“Achieving this level of performance and scale marks a
major milestone in our development of the GES technology,” said Joe Zhou, CEO
of Quidnet Energy. “These tests confirm that our storage technology is ready
for commercial deployments just as electrical grids grapple with the rapid rise
in load growth from industrial electrification and AI data centers. With a
mature, well-established supply chain and proven technology, we look forward to
delivering GES at scale at a critical time for the energy industry.”
Quidnet Energy is supported
by the Dallas-based Hunt Energy Network, which invested $10 million in 2024.
They are also supported by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and Prime.
The amount of time storage is
dependent on the size of the underground reservoir, whether rock or cavern.
Obviously, open caverns will be able to store energy for longer, but porous
rocks can also store considerable amounts of energy, especially post-hydraulic
fracture. The CEO noted that the process can get up to 10 hours of energy
storage today, but with bigger or more open reservoirs, they could potentially
extend that to tens of hours or even multiple days.
As shown in the March 2024
abstract below, from the Australian Energy Producers Journal, the process
involves creating “lenses” underground to increase open storage space for
pumped water.
Quidnet touts its geomechanical
energy storage solution as rapidly deployable, low-cost, modular,
long-duration, and reliable. They note that they are field testing throughout
North America.
Importantly, Quidnet Energy
announced in June 2025 that they completed a 35MWh discharge test after 6
months of holding charge with no loss. That is quite encouraging for the
technology. According to the press release:
“Having already proven the GES technology at the MWh
scale, this successful operation by Quidnet offers continued validation of the
GES technology to deliver scalable and dependable grid energy storage to meet
the fast-growing demand for reliable power. Along with 35 MWh energy delivery,
holding a charge with no discernible energy loss for six months proves that
Quidnet’s technology can be relied upon to provide energy when needed by
utilities for meeting firm power demands of the growing AI data center sector.”
“During our previous round of accelerated cycle testing,
we put considerable strain on the storage system,” said Bunker Hill, Vice
President of Engineering at Quidnet Energy. “To then see the system hold charge
for 6 months, with no loss, and deliver energy at a substantial duration and
scale is a strong validation of the robustness and scalability of our GES
technology.”
“Quidnet completed the 35 MWh test at their Greater
Houston project site which is under construction for CPS Energy, the largest
municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States. The
project for CPS Energy is part of a 15-year commercial agreement between the
utility and Quidnet, and the site is supported by the ARPA-E grant Quidnet
received through the 2021 SCALEUP initiative. This test underscores how Quidnet
will be able to confidently meet the project’s target storage capacity with
their technology, which is rapidly deployable and easily scaled to meet the
urgent demand for firm power.”
Pumped hydro stores the most
energy around the world, especially for long-duration energy storage. This new
iteration of pumped hydro in wells, or geomechanical energy storage (GES), is
poised to advance needed long-duration energy storage for power grids. The
method will be most useful near where the power is needed, so near busy power
grids in populated areas. The majority of the cost in pumped hydro is in
building the reservoir and dam to hold the water. I am guessing that for
Quidnet’s GES, which also requires a water storage facility to hold the water
pumped to the surface, the surface reservoir is much smaller. The basic setup
for Quidnet’s GES is a surface pond, a mechanical room, and a well.
How Quidnet's Technology Works on Vimeo
I think this technology will
grow in the near and mid-term as a needed method for longer duration storage
that will perhaps outcompete other longer duration solutions such as flow
batteries.
References:
Our
Solution: Geomechanical Energy Storage. Quidnet Energy. Technology - Quidnet Energy
Monitoring
geomechanical pumped storage in horizontal fluid-filled lenses with surface
tiltmeters. Dane Kasperczyk, Saeed Salimzadeh, Scott Wright, and Henry Lau. Australian
Energy Producers Journal 64 S255-S259. 16 May 2024. CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian
Energy Producers Journal
Quidnet
Energy tests MWh-scale geomechanical energy storage. Anne Fischer. PV Magazine.
February 28, 2025. Quidnet
Energy tests MWh-scale geomechanical energy storage – pv magazine International
Grid-Scale
Energy Storage Projects Heat Up Globally. Shannon Cuthrell. EE Power. August
21, 2025. Grid-Scale
Energy Storage Projects Heat Up Globally - News
Quidnet
Energy Completes 35 MWh Discharge Test after 6-Months of Holding Charge with No
Loss. Quidnet Energy. June 25, 2025. Quidnet Energy Completes 35
MWh Discharge Test after 6-Months of Holding Charge with No Loss - Quidnet
Energy
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